Bridge Over Un-Troubled Waters

This is a view of the Route 82 bridge over the Cuyahoga River. There's a whole series of parks up and down the river down in the valley, each one showcasing some little bit of history or a unique view or something. In this case, it's a stop for the tourist train that runs the length of the valley, this view of a spectacular bridge, and a structure designed to capture water from the Cuyahoga and divert it to the old Ohio & Erie Canal. Part of that capture & diversion structure is a dam which creates a large calm pool in which I was able to catch this reflection. Most of the river is too rough to allow nice reflections like this.

Monu-mental

The people of Cleveland really love their monuments. They have monuments to everyone and everything that has ever had any impact on their town. The guy in the chair above used to be the mayor, and he was know for his advocacy of free speech. Heaven knows what he would have thought about the giant FREE stamp that adorns another nearby park. And maybe giant green guys are more your speed? Check out the monument at the bottom, also dedicted to freedom and found in yet another park between the first two monuments. There is all sorts of symbolism in the statue according to the attached plaque, but all I see is a naked green guy.

Day Is Done

This was my view of the sunset on Sunday night across Lake Erie. If you look close, you'll see the little lighthouse at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River over towards the left. I don't think there is a way to get very close to that for a good picture without getting wet. Maybe on the boat trip I'm planning...

Welcome!

Did I mention that they have really rolled out the red carpet for me here in Ohio?

Terminal The Tower

This is the jewel of Cleveland's skyline, the Terminal Tower. It was built over the railyards (hence Terminal) in an era when such an idea was new and exciting. Today's security concerns would certainly preclude such an idea today, at least on the scale of this building. Again, I shot the night picture handheld, so it's a little askew and maybe not as sharp as I'd like, but it gives you a good sense of the building. The shot below is a reflection of the tower in the glass front of another building across the street. I should have tried that one at night, but I was tired after walking around Cleveland for ten hours. (I would love to have brought you pictures from the observation deck of this skyscraper, but it's been closed since 9/11.)

Roll With The Changes

How about a little history lesson? Cleveland was discovered by Moses Cleaveland in 1796. (Well, maybe not discovered...) He came out to the Western Reserve of Connecticut, surveyed the new settlement, then went home two months later, never to return. The residents were so ticked off, they changed the spelling of the name. Well, at least part of that is true, I'll leave it to you to decide which parts. (The Indians are on a winning streak, so Moses is wearing a hat in the statue above.) As for the picture below, the reason for the change from the original Twinsburgh to today's Twinsburg remains a mystery to me.

Brandywine Is Fine

It may be the dry season here in Ohio, but there's still enough water to make Brandywine Falls attractive. Of course it never hurts to use a long shutter speed to give the water an extra-full look. I think it worked quite nicely, don't you? This is another shot from the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. There are lots of sights like this all through the valley.

Cleveland Rocks!

I mentioned Virgina Kendall and her ledges a few posts back. There are some pretty impressive rock formations in there. This one (or two?) I'm sharing with you is far from the greatest, but I can't give you all of my best pictures, can I? The most impressive aspect of this picture isn't the subject matter, it's the picture itself. This photo was taken in the darkness on the shady side of the hill. I think the exposure length was a third or half a second. I didn't have a tripod, so it was handheld. I cheated by holding the shutter button down for 6 to 10 consecutive frames figuring one or two of those would be steady enough to use. I was pretty happy with the results. If Hello (tm) will cooperate, I'll get more pictures, promise. Scout's honor!

Oh Cleveland, My Cleveland

Finally, I was able to post this picture. I've been trying to get it up for two days now. This is a view of downtown Cleveland from the Flats area. The area down by the river has really seen a lot of improvement since the Cuyahoga caught fire back in the seventies. I waited down by river for quite a while hoping one of the big boats or barges would come by. When I finally left, I saw one of them going up the river but couldn't get a picture. These boats are almost as wide as the river, and it's pretty amazing how they guide them upriver and make the sharp turns in the river. I hope to take a river tour on the Goodtime III later in the week, and I should have some good river pictures for you then.

Odd In Ohio

You've seen me post pictures of weird things, but this may be the best yet. (Well, maybe not. I can think of worse.) Anyhow, this is a detail of a huge fungi I found on the side of a rock in Virgina Kendall Ledges in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It's a beautiful place that I would have missed, but someone here in Ohio sent me in the that direction last night. I'll try to post the pictures of the actual ledges sometime soon, but for now you get the fungi.

(I'm posting this picture in a different way than normal. I use Hello ordinarily, but it's been kicking me off everytime I log in for the past day or so. I really wanted to get some pictures up, so I'm trying it this way. If you can't see the picture, please let me know and I'll try something different. I don't have as many options when I do it this way, so it may or may not work.)

Yet Another Week In September

Even though I am in Ohio, I can still post calendar pages! Ain't technology wonderful? This is a seagull I spotted on a pier somewhere near Broadway in the Villages on Longboat Key, FL. You can see all the way through his beak if you look closely.

Hope You Like It

This rather imposing statue anchors a large bridge over the Cuyahoga River in Downtown Cleveland. It's called the Hope Memorial Bridge, and it was not named for Bob Hope. It was named for his dad. How's that for a twist? That's Terminal Tower in the background. You'll see more of that later.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

This is Jacob's Field, home of the Cleveland Indians. (At least I know what an Indian is.) I was here right before a ball game and there were people everywhere. At least there where when I walked back buy an hour later. I guess it was too far before the game for there to be many people around when I took this shot. The Indians appear to be doing pretty well this year, if you can judge by the number of people scalping tickets.

Moon Over Parma

There was a full moon last night. It wasn't actually over Parma, since I shot it from Macedonia, OH. But you get the idea... There are so many little cities up here. Every few miles, you're in another city that was founded in 18-something, and they all have little squares and plazas. You don't get that in Florida. I'm staying in Macedonia, working in Twinsburg, eating lunch in Hudson and dinner in Cuyahoga Falls.

Where Rock Lives

Perhaps you've heard of this place. If not, then get with the times, man. This is the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. It was established in Cleveland because that's were Alan Freed accepted the first payola to play that wild new devil's music on the radio. The building was designed by I. M. Pei, who's known for making odd buildings. Not that Cleveland needs any help with that. Stay tuned and you should see some wild stuff. This building is just a couple of blocks down from the stadium I brought you earlier. The two buildings are separated by some science center. Did you know that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame building partially stands in Lake Erie? It's true. There's a pillar underneath that snail-shell looking part, and it's in the water. If you're good, and I remember, I'll post a picture from the side showing that. In the meantime, Blogger seems to be having issues. I'm having a hard time getting stuff to post, so if it doesn't work soon, I'm going to bed. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see the rest of Cleveland. Oh, the sights you are missing...

What's A Brown?

I spent today in Downtown Cleveland. I must have walked 10 miles. I parked the car in three different places during the day, then walked in large circles. The weather decided to cooperate, so I got lots and lots of good pictures. I haven't counted yet, but I think I fired off more than 1200 shots today. I love digital! Anyhow, this was one of the first things I shot, the stadium where the Cleveland Browns play. I don't know what a Brown is exactly, but I'm sure I'll learn tomorrow at work. I think it's some kind of dog, or maybe that's just their mascot. Anyhow, Cleveland has really done a lot of work to revitalize their waterfront. (Getting a their football team back was a real big help.) The water their fronting is Lake Erie, but more on that later. Be sure you take a good close look at the foreground of this shot. See the little commuter train in there? I had to wait for hours and hours to get a train in there. Well, at least ten minutes. OK, maybe it was only five. But I did wait! Honest!

Behind The Sheraton

Suppose for a second, you were a nice small town in Ohio. You're named after the falls on a major river in the state. Where do you suppose those picturesque falls are located? How about sandwiching them between a large freeway and the Sheraton Hotel? That's the way they do things in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Silly me, I asked where the falls were. And I was taken to a hotel. The hotel is actually cantilevered out over the river, which gives it a nice view, but it sort of overshadows the natural beauty such an area posesses. Oh, well.

More to come from Ernie's Adventures In Ohio (tm)!

Stan Who-It?

I mentioned yesterday that I had gone to Stan Hywet, so I figured I owed you a picture of the actual mansion. So here it is. You can see it's just a little bit big. The basic tour of the house took an hour and a half. They also offer a couple more tours of other areas in the house, like the servant quarters, so you can imagine just how big it must be. You can see by the white sky above that the weather isn't exactly cooperating with me on this trip. Forecast for today is a little better, so maybe I'll have something good for you to see tonight. Stay tuned...